"I don't want to go back to real life," Jana groaned, dramatically falling over Ruth's lap with crocodile tears slithering down her brown cheeks.

Ruth sympathetically ran her fingers through Jana's hair and gave her a quick scalp massage to battle her hungover headache. Jana sighed in content. "I know," Ruth agreed.

"Maybe I should have done a week-long stay instead of just through the weekend," Jana pouted.

Chey scoffed from her seat behind them. "Oh hell no! You sound like a damn freight train when you snore. Dakota may be a bed hog, but at least he doesn't fuck up my eardrum while I'm trying to sleep!"

The girls howled in laughter as Jana gave them all the finger. She mumbled under her breath that they were all bitches and sat back up from Ruth's lap.

"Girl, you know that shit's true," Selene chortled.

After another hour of playful bickering, the driver dropped each girl off at different locations. Kat and Chey made Ruth promise to update them on all the tea at the rehearsal dinner before they left to meet up with their impatient men who were struggling to get out of their own SUV. By the time it was just Jana, Terry, and Ruth, they were all ready to get home.

The driver provided them with some background music to aid their silence, but that silence didn't last too long. He glanced at them in the mirror just to make sure everything was satisfactory, and one thumbs up was enough of an answer to suffice for him. He turned back to the road and ignored them for the rest of the way into their city.

"Hey Ruthie, you don't mind being at my apartment by yourself tonight, do you? Eddie and I are gonna chill together for our first night back," Jana asked, tilting her head.

"I would stay too, but Johnny and I are going to be with his mom in OKC for a few days," Terry added.

Perfect.

"No, that's totally fine," Ruth chirped. "Am I getting dropped off next?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Okay."

Ruth sent a quick text on her phone and turned her gaze to look out the window for the last ten minutes of her stress free weekend. Jana was right; Ruth honestly wasn't ready for it all to be over so soon. She actually really enjoyed her time away, and she couldn't remember the last time she had such a good time with a group of people. Kat and Chey really wormed their way into her heart, followed quickly by Selene and Peyton. She had a few friends in New York, but they didn't seem as close to her as those girls were.

They brought a breath of fresh air to Ruth, allowing her to breathe again. To be young, to party, to drink, and have fun. They didn't judge her, nor did they talk only about their profession. Ruth understood why many people in the medical field only talked about their profession. They worked hard for that shit and she definitely respected it. But nursing wasn't her entire life, and she enjoyed having conversations about other matters not related to work. There was only so much medical talk she could take before those people drove her stir crazy.

The driver pulled in front of Jana's familiar apartment complex and asked if Ruth needed help with her luggage. She threw the driver a reassuring smile and told him she had it handled.

Terry and Jana said their temporary goodbyes to Ruth, Jana adding that she was so grateful she got to spend her bachelorette party weekend with her. She only grinned, told her anytime, and retrieved her luggage. She barely waved them off when Raffo's SUV came barreling into the complex. A spark of nervousness shot through her chest after the car pulled up to where she stood waiting. There would absolutely be no funny business between the two, and she convinced herself she was strictly inviting him over for the information. But it didn't mean the thought of being alone with him didn't make her heart race and her mind turn to mush.

And she would finally know the truth of what exactly happened. She was both ready and nervous for it, knowing it was going to change everything. Whether that was in a good way or a bad way, she didn't know yet. But she hoped she would know soon.

Raffo opened the door to his SUV and shot her a lazy smile, spiking her blood pressure up to a dangerous amount. She smiled back shyly and tucked a curl behind her ear, patiently waiting for him to say his goodbyes to Johnny and Eddie after grabbing his bag. Both men waved to Ruth, which she eagerly returned, and then the SUV pulled away, leaving the two of them across from one another.

Raffo slyly rubbed his sweaty palms against his jeans, clearing his throat. "Are you ready to talk?"

"I'm ready," Ruth said, firmly, though her squeezing chest protested against the terrifying words that left her mouth.

"Good. Want me to take your luggage in for you?" he offered, already reaching for the bag's handle when she playfully swatted his hand away.

"I got it," she protested, a smile touching the tips of her lips.

"Ruth, you're gonna give me that damn bag," Raffo warned, the teasing growl in his voice sparking a swirl of heat in between her thighs.

"Nope," she giggled, running towards Jana's door as he chased behind her. She squealed as his arms wrapped securely around her waist and she pressed the back of her body against him. Warmth floods her cheeks as she gasped, turning her head to the side to catch a glimpse of him while her body hummed.

"Raff!" she laughed, breathlessly. She was too damn big to be running like that; she was already out of breath. But damn was it worth it to feel him wrapped around her.

Raffo shoved his face into the crook of her neck and chuckled along with her. "You shouldn't have ran from me then, slowpoke."

Ruth gasped, appalled. "I'm not a slowpoke!"

He snorted. "Bab—"

A voice as cold as ice slithered over the two of them, drenching them speechless like someone threw a bucket of cold water on them. "What . . . the . . . fuck?" The voice hissed out calmly with barely concealed rage.

Ruth froze in Raffo's stiffened arms.

She whirled around his body and low and behold, her girlfriend stood directly behind Raffo with her arms crossed and face unreadable at first. Her lips curl in a dark sneer and the hurt shimmering in the dark depths of her eyes was unsettling as it battled her anger. In all the years she'd known Emily, she had never seen her that furious before. She looked like the queen of the underworld, and there was no reconciliation in sight. No mercy or forgiveness.

"You have five fucking seconds to get in that house and explain," Emily growled, her shoulders shaking from the tight clenching of her fists at her sides.

Ruth, now shaking, moved out of Raffo's arms to stumble over to the door. Her mind went haywire, not knowing what the hell to think or feel. All she knew was there was a tremendous amount of fear and guilt turmoil in the pit of her stomach and she didn't know what to do. Emily caught her and Raffo in a strange position, and now Emily knew she and Raffo had made amends over the weekend.

It was definitely not what she needed her first day back from vacation. But she brought most of it on herself. Though why Emily flew down early to begin with, she didn't know. It felt like a dream or something you'd see on television. Shit, Ruth almost thought it was a scene torn out of the cultural version of The Great Gatsby. But she was a much better person than Daisy.

Or so she thought.

Ruth unlocked the door after searching frantically for the gold key and quickly made her way inside with Raffo hot on her tail. He whispered in her ear that everything was going to be alright, but she wasn't so sure. Not with Emily resembling a tornado.

When they piled into the apartment, Ruth stood in front of Raffo as Emily slammed the door closed and turned to face them. Her anger only increased after flickering her gaze between Ruth and Raffo, coming to some conclusion in her head before zeroing in on Raffo specifically. Her scoff and head shake was unnecessary, but understandable.

"Can you leave so I can talk to MY girlfriend alone?" Emily forced out, hostile. She crossed her arms and jutted her hip out for emphasis, but that didn't scare Raff.

In fact, he only moved closer to Ruth, hovering in case she needed him. And for the moment, she did. Call her a coward, but she didn't know if she wanted to be alone with Emily while she was so . . . unhinged.

"Nah, I'm not going anywhere," Raffo replied, lazily. He purposely crossed his arms and kept his feet planted defiantly.

"That's rich coming from you," Emily laughed humorlessly, shaking her head.

"Laugh all you fucking want. I'm not leaving, so you might as well just talk to her while I'm here."

Emily ignored him and turned her rage back onto Ruth, who could barely look at Em for anything longer than five seconds. Ruth never physically cheated on her, but she couldn't say the same emotionally. She wouldn't deny it if Em asked, and as much as it would pain her to admit it out loud, she couldn't lie about something as big as having feelings for the man she wasn't supposed to love anymore. It wouldn't be right for any of them if she continued to lie to herself.

But did that mean breaking it off with Emily? She didn't know. She couldn't have a repeat of what happened to her three-and-a-half years ago, and the thought of staying with Raffo only for him to hurt her again plagued her mind. But then again, why was fear of him hurting her the only thing holding her back from wanting to be with him again? Out of everything she could think of, the only thing stopping her from giving into him was the possibility of getting left behind again.

Ruth's thoughts ran rampant, and for once, she didn't know what to do, who to choose, what to say; all of it.

"Why are you here?" Ruth finally whispered. Raffo discreetly ran his knuckle soothingly down her back and she relaxed slightly under his touch.

"The fact that that's your question . . . What the fuck ever. Ruth, I haven't heard from you all weekend," Emily snapped, glaring heatedly at a shrinking Ruth. Her voice quaked with unconcealed fury and Ruth wanted to curl into Raffo's chest and go back to their staycation with their friends.

"Naturally, I was concerned for my girlfriend and knew something was off from the few messages you WOULD send me. So I took time off of work and caught the next flight out of New York because I was fucking worried about you and wanted to make sure you were okay. And what do I find? You whoring it up with your ex-boyfriend not knowing you were going to get caught," she practically shouted. "What the fuck is wrong with you, Ruth? Are you fucking stupid?"

Ruth flinched back into Raffo's chest. He protectively moved out from behind her and stood partially in-between the two women to shield her from the words flying out of Em's mouth. Though Ruth appreciated the gesture, it did nothing to prevent the sharp daggers from digging into her aching heart.

"Don't talk to her like that," Raffo hissed. Emily snapped her eyes over to him and red spilled into her flushed cheeks and curled ribbons around the whites of her glossy eyes.

"And you," Emily growled, her loathing for him darkening her expression even more. "What kind of sick fucker moves in on someone else's girlfriend behind their back?"

"Oh, please," he scoffed, rolling his eyes. "I don't even know you like that to do shit behind your back. And since you want to bring that up, you have no room to fucking talk."

Ruth's face crumbled in confusion. She remembered Raffo vaguely telling her he knew Emily a few years back when they were dating, but she hadn't even considered why they were distant from each other back then. Did Emily do something to make Raffo say a comment like that? Is there more to their history that Ruth didn't know?

A strange emotion shot clear across Emily's face. Before Ruth could grasp at it, Em turned to look at her peaking out behind Raffo's broad back.

"Ruth, we're leaving. I already bought your ticket back to New York," Emily clipped out like an angry mother. Like her angry mother. "We fly out in two hours."

Ruth's eyebrows rose at the audacity of Emily's words and for the first time since she started yelling, wondered who the hell Em was talking to like that. She had bought her a ticket to go back to New York without her knowledge, so now she thought she could just boss her around and tell her what to do? Ruth understood she was upset, but she wasn't Rochelle and needed to knock that shit off.

"The fuck she is," Raffo shouted.

"Em, I know you're—"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence," Emily warned Ruth. "I'm way passed fucking upset. So do me a favor and get your shit and let's go."

Ruth narrowed her eyes at Emily's blatant disrespect. "I'm not going anywhere with you talking to me like I'm your damn child."

Emily pressed her fingers to the bridge of her nose and sharply expelled a breath of air through her nose. "Ruth, you better kick Raffo out of here right now or I'll do it myself so I can talk to you."

"Is that a threat?" he challenged, egging her on. If they weren't in such an awful situation right then, Ruth probably would have laughed at his sly comments.

"I won't repeat myself to either of you. Ruth, we need to get to the airport and we'll talk when we get home."

Ruth's fingers balled into fists at her rigid sides. She had enough of Rochelle junior telling her what to do, and she was going to make that very clear. "Raffo isn't going anywhere and I'm not going to any damn airport, so stop acting like you somebody's mother. And before you fucking assumed I was "whoring" around, I haven't done anything sexual with him all weekend. Why don't you get off your fucking high horse and look up what a whore is before you throw that shit in my face again!"

"Then why were you guys coming here by yourselves, huh?" Emily shouted, gesturing to the apartment in accusation. "Don't bullshit me, Ruth. I don't have time for your sh—"

"He's here because I fucking need closure," Ruth screamed. "You convinced me I didn't need it, but that was a selfish lie!"

"Of course she would tell you that," Raffo interjected, his tone low and icy.

There was a strange sound, though Ruth didn't know if it tore itself from her or Emily's lips.

"What do you mean?" Ruth asked him, confused.

Something in Emily's face changed then in the blink of an eye. Her eyes widened with panic and raw insecurity slithered into her expression. Ruth had never seen her look so, so scared before. The atmosphere shifted and the game changed, leaving the ball out of Emily's court and within Raffo's.

"Don't. You promised," Emily choked, her lips trembling and her voice wavering.

Ruth didn't move to comfort her. Something told her not to.

"What? Promised what?" Ruth demanded, her chest squeezing tightly. Raffo didn't move his gaze from Emily just yet, however, and answered Em's cryptic words coldly.

"That was before I knew how manipulative you fucking were. Ruth deserves to know the truth," Raffo argued, turning around to look at Ruth. Her eyebrows furrowed at his words and before she could ask, his fingers were there, stroking her cheek. "Ruth baby, I'm so sorry I kept this from you. I didn't want to hurt you by causing you more pain with the truth, but it was a selfish choice of me to make. It was easier to have you hate me before this weekend than to see you crushed."

"Raffo, you're scaring me," she whispered, her whimper lost in the pounding of her ears.

"RAFFO," Emily shouted, making her way over to them, but it was too late.

Raffo had ignored her and kept his gaze trained solely on Ruth, even after Emily physically pushed him away. "She convinced me to leave you, Ruth."

Emily tried to object, but Ruth pushed her body away so she could stand directly in front of Raffo urgently. Her heart pounded a mile a minute and she knew any moment now, it was going to burst. She wanted so badly to pass out, but she needed to know the truth first. "Who? Who did?" Ruth rushed out, frantic.

Raffo's face twisted in pain and she knew the answer before he even got the chance to say anything at all.

There was a cry, a moment of silence, and the sound of Ruth's heart breaking.

"Emily," he finally whispered.

*****